According to US maritime administration officials, a new bilateral US-Vietnamese agreement on maritime services could help the Vietnamese economy become more competitive internationally, as well as attracting foreign investment.

Signed on March 15 in Washington, the Bilateral Maritime Agreement gives US shipping service providers broader access to the country's growing transportation market.

Under the agreement, US shipping service companies will be able to acquire a controlling 51% share in joint venture enterprises. Prior to the agreement, they were restricted to minority holdings in Vietnamese companies. Five years from the date of its implementation, they will be permitted to operate without Vietnamese partners.

The new agreement builds on previous trade initiatives which were launched following the 2000 Bilateral Trade Agreement between the two countries. Since then the United States and Vietnam have signed several other agreements, including counternarcotics, textiles and civil aviation agreements.

Reports indicate that trade between the two countries and US direct investments in Vietnam have been growing since the countries normalised their diplomatic relations in 1995, and has quadrupled since the Bilateral Trade Agreement came into force in December 2001.